


Nightcap

by heyjupiter



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Community: kink_bingo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-19
Updated: 2011-06-19
Packaged: 2017-10-20 13:50:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>"Erik, I'm sorry, you--you were having a nightmare, and there were such terrible noises, and I just--just wanted to ensure that you were all right. </em>Are<em> you all right?" he asks. Erik's calmer, now, but Charles makes no motion toward getting off the bed, off of Erik.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightcap

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the kink-bingo prompt "held down."

Charles jerks awake suddenly. He catches his breath and listens. He hadn't dreamed the strange clattering sounds. He tries to ignore them, but they get louder. He's pretty sure they're coming from Erik's room. He glances at the clock. Three AM.

He thinks about the man in the room next door. Erik Lehnsherr. He hasn't really had a chance to get to know him yet--he'd been exhausted on the ship yesterday, half-drowned and over-exerted from trying to stop a submarine. It was quite an impressive display of power, and Charles wondered what else his new friend was capable of. 

Charles hesitates. He doesn't want to intrude, of course, but if Erik needs assistance, he certainly wants to provide it. He puts on his slippers and knocks on Erik's door. He waits a moment, and knocks again, harder, but receives no reply.   
  
"Erik? Erik, are you all right?"

Again, no response, but the metallic clattering continues. It's definitely coming from Erik's room. "Erik, I'm going to come in there to see if you're all right," Charles warns. He tries the door, but it's locked. Charles is a little surprised by that--he never locks his door here. He's pretty sure Moira had given him a master key for this wing of the building, though he hasn't had occasion to use it yet. He goes back to his room and retrieves his keyring. He knocks one last time before opening Erik's door, hoping that this isn't too much of a transgression. He remembers what had happened the one and only time he'd gone in his father's study without permission.

When he opens the door, he's stunned by the sight. Erik is lying in bed, slightly thrashing. All the metal objects--alarm clock, belt buckle, lamp, telephone--are flying around the room, occasionally crashing into the wall or each other. He reaches out into Erik's mind and is taken aback by what he sees. It's a terrifying nightmare, starving and drowning and unable to stop--stop what? He's not quite sure but there is a terrible sense of urgency to the dream. Erik's obvious pain makes Charles gasp.

"Erik!" he calls, pleading. "Please stop." But still Erik doesn't wake. Charles sighs and studies the pattern of the flying objects. It's erratic, but they mostly stay fairly high up, around eye level. Charles gets down on his hands and knees and crawls over to the bed. He shakes Erik. 

"Erik, _wake up_! The objects seem to get closer and faster. Charles takes a deep breath. He retreats back into Erik's mind, trying desperately to wake his friend before he destroys the building, before he destroys himself. But he can't figure out how to break through the dense layer of nightmare to get through to Erik's conscious mind. He covers his head with his hands and climbs up onto the bed with Erik. He straddles him and puts his arms around him, simultaneously trying to shake him awake and hold him reassuringly. 

He can tell when Erik awakens because he starts trying to fight Charles off. "Oh, please, calm down, Erik," Charles stammers. He presses Erik's arms down to the bed, not wanting to get a black eye for his attempts at assistance. Erik is strong, but he's still half-asleep and run-down from the previous day, and Charles manages to subdue him. The metal objects slow and gently settle on the floor.

He holds Erik still and soothes him. "Erik, I'm sorry, you--you were having a nightmare, and there were such terrible noises, and I just--just wanted to ensure that you were all right. _Are_ you all right?" he asks. Erik's calmer, now, but Charles makes no motion toward getting off the bed, off of Erik.

"I--" Erik says. "I apologize. I normally have better control over my gift."

Normally, Charles tries his best to respect the mental privacy of others. But, he tells himself, he's just concerned for his new friend, and he peeks into Erik's thoughts. "Oh!" Charles says, when he realizes Erik is attracted to him, when he realizes how Erik feels about having Charles on top of him. He feels color rising in his cheeks. Charles has always been a blusher, to his lifelong dismay. "Ah. It's perfectly understandable, my friend," Charles says. "You--yesterday was a very difficult day for you, I am certain."

"Yes. Yesterday," Erik says. He's breathing a little bit faster than normal, Charles observes clinically. The look Erik gives him is challenging. Confident. 

"Then. Well. I am happy to see that you are all right, Erik," Charles says. "I--I'll see you in the morning," he says, still not moving.

Erik raises his head off the pillow. "It's already morning, I believe."

Charles laughs nervously. "I suppose it is."

Erik raises his head a little higher, his face just millimeters from Charles's. He gives a predatory smile. Though Charles is the telepath, he almost believes that Erik is reading his mind. He takes in a breath, and by the time he lets it out, Erik has closed the gap between their mouths. They kiss chastely for a brief moment, and Charles pulls his face back in shock. 

For a brief moment, Erik's confident expression shatters. Then, Charles kisses him again, using his soft scholar's hands to hold Erik's face still. They kiss curiously, passionately. Charles has never kissed a man before, but kissing Erik makes him realize why nothing had ever come of those women he'd picked up in pubs. It's nearly as strong of a revelation as the day he'd realized he really could read minds, the day he'd realized he wasn't insane.

In one smooth gesture, Erik rolls out from under Charles and on top of him. Erik is slim, but muscular, and Charles quite enjoys feeling his weight on top of him. Yes, this feels right. Oh, and it feels better yet when Erik holds his face and kisses him. Erik kisses with an intensity Charles has never felt.

Telepathically, Charles says, _You're safe now, Erik,_ though he's not at all sure the same is true for him.


End file.
